1st Serious Deal - Estate Sale

Hello, everyone! I've been clearing debts, saving, scanning the market, and lurking the BP forums for a while now. And I've found a deal I'm comfortable pursuing. But I need a bit of insight.

The home is a 2b1b, in a classy neighborhood of 3/4b2b, in good shape, and the price is right.

What's the issue? It's not on the market. It sold the first day!

There is good news. It was being sold by the estate and doesn't have clear title so the original buyer backed out and has refunded the earnest money. The agent is currently working with attorneys to clear the title but doesn't know when it will be back on the market. I've been calling to check up each week or two.

I have a few concerns:

What if this thing gets snatch up behind my back?

Is there a chance it comes back on the market with a raised asking price?

Can I make an offer at this point?

Is there a way to call "dibs" on a property? LOL.

Honestly, I'm just looking for a little moral support from the pros. I'm finally at this point and my I'm shaking with excitement. It's hard to wait.

Good luck with your deal. Make sure that you are pursuing because of realistic expectations and not falling in love with the house. I had to calm myself down when I first started looking at homes recently. I'm in a similiar situation. I've been paralyzed analyzing real estate for far to long. I wanted to jump into the first few homes despite not being the best deals. Hope you can get some better advice from the experts here.

Don't overthink it. Like Rick said, get it under contract to keep it from being purchased by another investor and then move on to the next house. Eventually, title either gets cleared or it doesn't. If it does, you presumably got a good deal and you can move forward. If it doesn't, you get your earnest money back and you haven't lost anything because you weren't "waiting" on this one home to make you an investor.

@Taylor Reichert My last two properties came from estates, well directly from the attorney. If I were you, call the attorney directly and set up a meeting. Tell them you would like to buy the property. Build a relationship with the attorney. Chances are if this property falls through, the attorney can tell you about another estate he is settling. Attorneys would prefer to sell the real estate directly to an end buyer. They don't want the excecutors to list the property because that could take forever. Attorneys want the property sold quickly so they get their cut. Who knows, if you establish a strong enough connection maybe he will start bringing you deals.

Also, depending on your state you might be able to use the same attorney to handle your settlement. What attorney wouldn't love a quick settlement of an estate and then handle the real estate transaction. Its a win, win, win. The executors get rid of the property, the attorney has a quick estate settlement, and you get an investment.

Well guys, this house has been taken off the market. It's tied up in probate and no one knows when it will be cleared. I'm moving on but for the sake of education do I have any options at this point or would I be kicking a dead horse.

The search continues for another deal. I want my first before 2016.

Thanks to everyone for being supportive. There's no other place like BP!

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